Little Mari Noman's Hairy Suitors
by Trillen17
Summary: Then she looked at them sharply, "But don't think that you can take advantage of her on account of her slowness." Fili froze in the middle of lifting his spoon and Kili choked on the stew he'd been swallowing. "You wouldn't be the first to think so, but she's a good girl who knows not to lift her skirts. She ain't much to look at but my Bill's fair fond of the girl." One-shot


There were many reactions that were typical when Kili and Fili came to a new village. Suspicion, distrust, sometimes indifference, but widespread whispers and laughter was not usually one of them. As the brothers neared the center of the settlement, they seemed to gather a following of giggling young woman, all of whom looked away and tried unsuccessfully to look like they were doing something else whenever one of the Dwarves looked behind them.

As they passed the village well, the gaggle seemed unable to contain themselves and amid riotous laughter and loud, almost whispers could be heard, "Ooooh, little Mari Noman, your hairy suitors have arrived!"

Kili started to turn, more than a little enraged since it was obvious who was being referenced. Fili, who was the cooler head of the two, grabbed his arm and kept walking. Kili had his head turned enough to get a clear view of a short, squat girl who stood apart by the well with an expression akin to that of a woodland animal when a lantern was suddenly flashed in their face. The resemblance to a woodland creature was enhanced by the fact that her predominant color was brown. Her patched dress was various shades of brown and seemed blend into her skin, wild, quirky, brown hair sprung from her head covering, and her rolled up sleeves revealed arms covered in thick brown hairs.

The pot she had been filling fell from her thick fingers, cracking on the cobblestones, and she drew her greying apron over her head as she dashed off with a wordless howl.

Kili was fuming as he pulled out of his brother's grasp, and glared at the ground before them. "There's nothing to do, but keep on going." Fili murmured keeping pace with their suddenly increasing speed.

The young Dwarf gave a dissatisfied grunt in response.

"Anything you did would have made it worse."

Kili sighed, knowing that his brother was right.

When they got to the local inn, The Merry Vixen, they found that the local blacksmith had been injured a few weeks back and they were able to get a room in exchange for fixing various metal works.

There were still a few hours until supper would be available so Kili and Fili set about working on the repairs.

When they walked back into the inn they could hear Madame Slater, the innkeep's wife, loudly berating the serving girl. The girl kept nodding and mumbling "Sorry, sorry, sorry." Kili recognized her as the girl from the well.

Seeing the Dwarves, Madame Slater broke off and turned towards them with a smile, "Master Dwarves, have you returned for supper? You're just in time for some good, hot stew."

Fili nodded his assent and presented her with some of her now mended pans.

"Oh, lovely," She turned to the tearful girl standing in the corner and raised her voice while slowing her speech, "Mari, go fetch two bowls of stew and a loaf."

She watched the girl go with a sigh, "That girl." Madame Slater glanced back at the brothers "I'm sure you heard the brouhaha at the well as you arrived. Mari doesn't seem to be able to learn not to react to some harmless teasing."

Kili twitched with annoyance and Fili didn't respond.

"She's not quite stupid, but she is rather slow. Isn't that right, Mari?" She said to the returning girl.

Mari blushed and ducked her head as she pushed the bowls over the counter to Kili and Fili. "Y-ye, that's t-true."

They grabbed the bowls and walked over to one of the empty tables, hoping that would be the end of it, but Madame Slater followed them and sat herself down, ready for a gossip as they ate. "A foundling, our Mari is." She indicated that Mari should bring some drinks over, "My Bill was the one who found her. A tiny bundle abandoned in the woods for who know how long."

She paused, waiting for a response, and after an uncomfortable silence Fili gave a short nod, hoping that she would take a hint and leave them to eat in peace.

Unfortunately she took this for encouragement and continued, "I wasn't half pleased, let me tell you, when he brought her home. She was burning up with fever and I was sure that she'd be dead before the day was out, but she proved me wrong in the end."

Fili could see Kili fidgeting and he shook his head at him, they didn't want to offend the lady of the house and end up with no place to stay.

"Mari's been a good help for all her slowness, and once she learns a thing she don't forget it." She finished fondly

Then she looked at them sharply, "But don't think that you can take advantage of her on account of her slowness." Fili froze in the middle of lifting his spoon and Kili choked on the stew he'd been swallowing.

"You wouldn't be the first to think so, but she's a good girl who knows not to lift her skirts. She ain't much to look at but my Bill's fair fond of the girl."

"M-ma-ma, d-don't say things." There was a clatter from Mari setting tankards of ale down harder then she'd intended, blushing furiously.

Madame Slater downed the tankard in front of her in a few gulps before heaving herself and shooing the girl back towards the kitchen. "Why do you care, Missy? Hmm, are you trying to tell me what I should and shoul-" Here she was cut off by the door swinging shut and the Dwarves both relaxed a little.

"We cannot leave this place soon enough." Kili muttered.

"I agree completely, brother."

* * *

**Hey all, I'm dedicating this drabble to my sister whose babyhood nickname, 'Hairy Mary Cheeks of Cherry', (she was the fuzziest baby I've ever seen) was the inspiration. My original intention for this piece was a little more light-hearted, but this is what kept happening so I let the characters have their way. Madame Slater was an obnoxious old biddy who refused to be left out of the story. **

**I kind of left it up to you, why you think Mari was left out there, I have an explanation but I'd like to hear yours.**

**I should probably point out that while Mari and my sister share a name I was not subtly calling my sister stupid. She is an intelligent beautiful girl, if somewhat vain.**

**I don't know if I need to say this or not but I included the detail about the fever because they have been known to do a lot of damage in the past such as creating blindness, deafness, or mental retardation due to "boiling" the brain.**

**Um, anyway I hope you enjoy, review, maybe favorite this. I'm working on a full-length story that has nothing to do with this but once I get close to finishing it I want to post it so watch for it.**

**Oh, and I only own Mari, Madame Slater, and The Merry Vixon.**

**Edit: If you want to see a semi-correct image of what Mari looks like go here: www . dolldivine . ****com/Other-Dolls/Trillen17-1858765 **

**(Remove the spaces)**


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